ANAHEIM — The Ducks had in their lineup Thursday night against Vancouver these four centers – Derek Grant, Chris Wagner, Antoine Vermette and Kalle Kossila.

It is unexpected playing time for all of them, something they relish. Having those four in the middle is also nothing near what the Ducks imagined when they broke into the season.

Vermette is by far the most experienced as he’s coming up on 1,000 NHL games played, while the other three have 219 between them. But consider that Vermette was to center the third line, Grant was to challenge for a fourth-line job, Wagner to play on the wing and Kossila to be with their minor-league club.

Such is the state of the center position in Anaheim as Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler are out long term while Ducks coach Randy Carlyle is keeping Rickard Rakell at left wing after failed experiments in the middle. It begs the question as to whether the Ducks need to seek help through a trade.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray didn’t rule that out. Colorado’s Matt Duchene was a target, but Avalanche GM Joe Sakic sent him to Ottawa and ultimately got a package of prospects and high-round draft picks from the Senators and Nashville, which got Kyle Turris in the three-way deal.

“One big one has happened,” Murray said. “Everybody knew the one part – well, you know two of the parts were going to happen sometime. It’s just – it wasn’t in the cards for us. Joe did a pretty good job of getting a lot of young pieces. Did a pretty good job.

“At any time, and this is a broken record, if there’s a chance to improve the organization and hockey team, you definitely go ahead and do it. It’s early yet. A big trade happened but that was supposed to happen at the draft last year and it didn’t happen. Finally did.”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also reported that Murray tried to work out a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for Russian center Vadim Shipachyov, who’s headed back to the KHL. For now, Murray is willing to get by as his team is hit with a slew of injuries unlike anything he’s ever seen in his four decades in the league.

“It’s hard to remember one where you had such elite players out of your lineup,” Murray said. “Such important people out of your lineup at the same time. Hey, nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. We just got to get through it. So far, we’ll keep our heads above water.

“And really when you look at it. When guys are injured, there’s opportunity for other people. And it’s just the way it is. Some people have risen to the occasion and some haven’t.”

HUSKY REUNION

Kevin Roy made his NHL debut for the Ducks, who gave him the traditional rookie treatment in sending him out of the tunnel for the pre-game warm-up skate alone before joining the winger. His first game carried additional meaning because he played with his former college teammate, Josh Manson.

Manson served as captain for Northeastern in 2013-14 when Roy was in his sophomore season with the Huskies. Roy recalled a young defenseman who took that role seriously.

“He was always all about business when he’s at the rink,” Roy said. “He can have fun with the guys too. We related to him. He can be a scary guy too. You didn’t want to step too much out of line.

“He was just an awesome leader, awesome captain and just an awesome guy in general.”

Manson didn’t deny that he led with a firm hand, mainly because it was a Northeastern program in transition and the Huskies coaching staff wanted that from him.

“We had the same mindset so it made it easy,” Manson said. “I wanted to be a little more strict but still have fun. We had a good group of guys obviously. Having Kevin there, maybe a little bit more strict in his eye because we needed to keep him in line. He liked to step out of line.”

In that, Manson was speaking tongue-in-cheek about the 24-year-old Quebec native. He was thrilled to see Roy drafted by the Ducks in 2012 and make his way through college and the American Hockey League.

“He has a knack for the net,” Manson said. “The puck bounces somewhere and all of a sudden he’s there and it’s in the net. He finds ways to make plays. He’s crafty with the puck.

“He’s an extremely special player. His skill set, it’s amazing actually. There were times in practice when I was in college where I’d just watch in awe.”

PAIN INTOLERANCE

The Ducks’ lengthy list of players out of action grew by two when wingers Ondrej Kase and Jared Boll were put on injured reserve.

Kase, who has five goals and three assists in 12 games, had an undisclosed upper-body injury after receiving a hard hit from the Kings’ Kurtis MacDermid on Tuesday. The winger missed three games earlier this season due to a suspected concussion.

Boll has a lower-body injury that he suffered Tuesday. The rugged winger scored his first goal since joining the Ducks last season. It was his first since scoring for Columbus at New Jersey on March 20, 2016.

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